Sparks
by MagicMysticFantasy
Summary: Kaia's been friends with Scott and Stiles since the sixth grade. The night Scott got bit meant watching for infection or rabies at first. Later it means discovering that the supernatural is real. Scott's life is changing, but when a family member stops by for a surprise visit, it seems hers is about to change too. All she knows is that she's not getting near enough sleep anymore.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Wolf or its characters, only Kaia and my original ideas._

 _Note: Feel free to review, even if it's to say something isn't working! Reviews make my day when they're good, and help me improve when they're not. (They also remind me to keep working on a story when life gets really busy!) Thanks!_

Kaia walked through the woods in near silence. It was cold out, and she definitely wasn't properly dressed for early fall weather, especially when it was after dark. At the moment, she was wearing a sports tanktop, capri length yoga pants, and running shoes. Her copper colored hair was also pulled back into a ponytail, and she was covered in a thin layer of sweat that made her even colder.

She had gone for a nighttime run at seven and had lost track of time. Before she knew it, the sun was going down and she was on the opposite end of the preserve from her house. She had also forgotten that the sun was going down earlier these days, leading to her current predicament of being alone in the woods after dark. Luckily she had her phone with her, and had texted her dad to tell him what had happened so he wouldn't worry. He had responded with a message to stay safe, and that he would see her later. Her dad was awesome.

Kaia shivered as a soft breeze rustled the leaves above her. A sudden crack of a branch snapping nearby her made her freeze in place to listen. Several rustles sounded, and Kaia began to back up against a tree so that she could have one place where she knew the sounds weren't coming from. Her eyes darted around the woods, and as more rustles sounded, finally narrowed in on the bushes at the top of a nearby incline. As the sounds got louder, she pressed herself further into the tree.

Two forms suddenly emerged, and tumbled into the clearing as they bickered. Kaia let out a breath of relief at the sight of them, and just as quickly switched to anger. What the hell were they thinking clambering through the woods at this hour, hiding in bushes?

"What the hell are you two morons thinking?! You just about gave me a heart attack! If this is your idea of a prank, then it's not funny!" They screeched and scrambled backward after she spoke, and Kaia belatedly realized that they probably hadn't seen her as she was dressed in all black. Which meant this wasn't a prank. She winced. "Sorry."

" _Kaia_? What the hell?! What are you even _doing_ out here? Why aren't you at home?" Kaia rolled her eyes at Stiles, the one who had asked the questions, and crossed her arms. Scott was wheezing off to the side, and she glanced at him in concern. He gave her a small smile and the okay sign, and she nodded, turning back to their friend.

"What does it look like, dumbass? I went for a run at seven, forgetting how early the sun starts going down this time of year. It got dark when I was heading back, and I couldn't see the ground well enough to run any longer, meaning I'm stuck walking home. What's your excuse for being out here this late when we have school tomorrow?"

Before he could answer, shouts and bright lights came from beyond the trees. Stiles cursed, and pulled Kaia to the ground, motioning for Scott to do the same. Kaia scowled in indignation at being manhandled, but looked up when she heard dogs barking. She squinted her eyes to see better. Suddenly her eyes flew open wide as she recognized the police force.

"Stiles, why is your dad out here with what looks like the entire force?" she hissed at him. Scott had finally caught his breath from where he lay beside her, and when she glanced at him, Kaia could tell he was regretting coming along with the other boy. Stiles ignored her question, and suddenly scrambled to his feet.

"Hey, come on!" he said, rushing from their hiding spot. Kaia watched him incredulously for a moment, before scrambling to her feet and offering a hand to Scott, who was whisper-yelling protests after Stiles. Kaia had her own doubts about running _towards_ the people they were hiding from, but she didn't want to be left behind, so she followed.

Stiles rushed through the trees, and Kaia quickly caught up to him, all the while making sure Scott wouldn't suddenly pass out due to his asthma. Scott had still been calling out warnings and protests, but he suddenly went silent. Kaia whipped around to face him, concerned that his trouble breathing had finally caught up to him, and Stiles seemed to notice for the first time that Scott wasn't right behind them. Kaia was about to go back to check on him, when a sudden barking erupted from behind them. Stiles yelped in surprise and fell to the ground as Kaia let out a small scream and stumbled back.

"Hold it right there!" one of the officers shouted at them. Kaia let out a quiet groan, and looked up at the sky. If she got arrested because of Stiles, she was going to kill him. Suddenly remembering Scott, she subtly turned to look for him, and caught the edge of his jacket as he darted behind a tree. Good, he hadn't collapsed or passed out, he'd merely noticed the police they were about to run into and had gone quiet.

"Hang on, hang on! One of these little delinquents belongs to me." Once the dog was back under control, he turned his attention to Kaia. "Kaia, I didn't expect to see you here. You usually keep my son _out_ of trouble, not follow him _into_ it." She blushed slightly and lowered her head.

"Sorry, Sheriff. If I knew what was going on, I would have tried to. I only ran into him several minutes ago." Seeing his confused expression, she elaborated. "I was out for a run and lost track of time. It got dark before I got out of the woods, and I was stuck walking home. I honestly have no idea what is happening." The Sheriff raised his eyebrows.

"So, I guess my son didn't tell you about the dead body out here that he learned about by listening in on my phone call? Or the fact that there is a slim chance that the killer is still out here?" Kaia paled, and her eyes went wide. She turned to Stiles, who looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole under both his dad and Kaia's gazes.

" _Stiles Stilinski_ , you forgot to tell me that there was a _dead body_ and quite possibly a _psychopath_ out here in the middle of the woods, and you had us running around looking for them?!" Stiles winced at her tone, and mumbled something in reply. "What was that?" He cleared his throat and repeated himself, still avoiding her eyes.

"I said, technically it was only half a dead body."

" _Half –_ " Stiles's dad cut off her squeak once he realized that this could easily turn into a long conversation.

"You two can finish this conversation later. Now, where's your usual partner in crime?" His question was aimed at Stiles, and both he and Kaia knew exactly who he was talking about. She forced herself to not look back at the tree where Scott was hiding. Stiles let out a laugh that sounded strained even to Kaia, much less the Sheriff.

"Who, Scott?" Stiles was still panting slightly from his run through the woods and his scare with the dog. "Sc-Scott's home. He said he wanted a good night's sleep for his first day back at school tomorrow. It was just me. In the woods. Alone. Until I ran into Kaia. Who was also in the woods. Alone." Kaia rolled her eyes at her friend. Way to be transparent. The Sheriff clearly didn't fully believe Stiles, and he raised his flashlight to the surrounding trees.

"Scott, you out there? Scott?' He waited for a moment, then sighed when he realized that he had no way to tell if Scott was really there or not. "Well, young man, I'm gonna walk you back to your car, and when I get home, you and I are going to have a conversation about something called invasion of privacy." Kaia snickered at Stiles's expression, and the Sheriff turned to look at her, suddenly remembering why she was out there as well.

"Kaia, would you like a ride home? One that my son will so graciously provide for you?" Kaia suddenly realized how cold she was and shivered, giving the man a small smile and a nod. Seeing her shiver, the Sheriff removed his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders, enveloping her in a blanket of warmth. "Here, you can wear this on the way back to the car. You must be freezing out here, dressed like that."

"Thanks, Mr. Stilinski. And thanks, Stiles, for the ride home. It probably would have taken me another fourty-five minutes to reach my house at the rate I was going. You just shaved over half and hour off of my ETA." Kaia said with a smile. Stiles's dad smiled at her, keeping a firm grip on the back of Stiles's coat.

Once they reached the car, the Sheriff told his son to text him once Kaia was dropped off and once he got home, and that once the second text came in he was going to call the house to confirm that was where he really was. Kaia removed the coat as she slid into the passenger seat of the Jeep, and handed it back to the man.

"Thanks for the coat. I'll try not to get caught out here again after dark, and I'll definitely bring a jacket next time I do." She smiled as she closed her door, and the Sheriff nodded in response as he backed up, hearing the sound of the car's engine starting.

"Sure thing. Take care, Kaia. Stiles, don't forget to text me. If you do, I'm taking away your laptop for the next week." At Stiles's stunned and horrified expression, his father laughed, before waving and walking back to the others. Kaia chuckled a bit too, before poking her friend in the side, causing him to glare at her. Taking her cue for what it was, though, he shifted gears and began driving.

Once she was certain they were moving, Kaia pulled out her phone and opened up her text stream with Scott. _Text me when you get home, OK? Sorry for ditching, couldn't find a way to get you a ride w/o the Sheriff knowing. Be careful._ Stiles caught sight of the phone in her hands.

"What are you doing?" He asked as they drove. Kaia looked up from her phone with raised eyebrows. Had he already forgotten Scott? She knew that he hadn't really, and had come to the same conclusion Kaia had informed Scott about. She figured that it was a sign of the differences between guys and girls that he wouldn't be checking in on his friend through a text, but rather checking in with Scott in person the next day.

"Texting Scott, saying sorry for ditching. I also told him to be careful and to let me know when he got home so I won't worry. You know," she said, narrowing her eyes at Stiles, "since apparently there's a murderer out there and _half_ a dead body." Stiles groaned in response.

"Oh my god, you're going to hold that over me forever, aren't you? Sorry, I didn't get the chance to tell you between you scaring Scott and me – shaving several years off our lives, I might add – and the police showing up. I swear I would have told you within the next several minutes." Kaia considered him for a moment, before nodding and giving him a grin.

"Apology accepted. I'm still going to hold that over you from time to time though, and I hope you know that." At Stiles's exasperated look, she laughed. A quiet noise from her phone showed a new text from Scott. _K, thanks. Don't worry I'll be fine. Will be leaving the woods in a minute, dropped my inhaler. Yes, I'll be careful. See you tomorrow._ As Stiles rambled in the background, Kaia's body relaxed slightly at the message from Scott.

She'd always had a soft spot for the boy who was one of the two brothers she'd never had, the other being Stiles of course. However, she had become more protective of Scott ever since she witnessed a really bad asthma attack that led to him passing out. They had been in sixth grade at the time, and Kaia was so freaked out by the event that she hadn't slept for a week. Actually, neither had Scott really, because she had been so worried about him that she'd texted every couple of hours to make sure he was alright. Come to think of it, she still had nightmares about his asthma attacks every now and then.

Kaia tuned back into Stiles's ramblings once they reached her street. They turned into her driveway, and she unbuckled her seatbelt. She double checked that she had everything with her, then turned back to Stiles and gave him a short hug.

"Hey, thanks for the ride. See you tomorrow at school?" Stiles grinned at her as she moved back, and nodded.

"Sure. Man, everyone's going to know about it, but we'll have heard about it first hand, how cool is that?" Noticing Kaia's fond irritation, he tactfully moved on from the subject. "Right. Anyway, get inside before your dad freaks, and I'll see you tomorrow when you no longer stink." He dodged the cuff Kaia sent him with a laugh, and moved the gearshift into reverse, waiting for her to reach the front door before backing up. Kaia sent him a final wave as he left then entered her house.

She breathed in the familiar scent of pine, cinnamon, and her dad's aftershave with a sigh of contentment. She loved her house. Most of the walls on the outside of the house had windows that, when the curtains were open, gave the house an open and airy feeling. The house was also on the edge of town, meaning that it backed up into the woods that led to the preserve connected to the old Hale house. It was how she even got to the other end of the preserve in the first place.

Debating about leaving her shower until morning, Kaia glanced at the clock and decided to wait so she could get some sleep now. She kicked off her running shoes by the front door, double checked that the door was locked, then headed upstairs. She paused by the door to her dad's room, then pushed it open and slipped silently inside.

She walked over to the edge of the bed, and watched her dad's even breathing for a moment before brushing her hand over his arm lightly and crouching down beside him. Her dad hummed as he blearily blinked into almost-awareness. He caught sight of Kaia and his lips curled up slightly.

"Hey, chickadee." He said, his voice still muffled by sleep. "What're you doing in here? Everything alright?" Kaia smiled, and nodded, brushing her hand over her dad's shoulder again.

"Yeah, dad, everything's fine. I just wanted to let you know that I'm home so you don't panic in the morning." she stood as her dad started drifting off again. "I'll let you get back to sleep. Goodnight. I love you." Her dad murmured something similar as she slipped out of his room again and closed the door.

Kaia made her way further down the hall to her room, and opened the door. Her room was her favorite one in the whole house. Three of its walls were literally made out of windows, as well as the roof. There were huge drapes for the walls, and the roof had wooden panels attached to ropes inside her room that could be opened and closed.

The room had been her birthday and Christmas present wrapped in one the year she turned thirteen. Her only request had been that the windows be made out of bulletproof glass. Her parents had protested due to the cost until she pointed out that someone throwing a rock at the wall to her room would bring the whole thing down. They agreed pretty quickly after that.

Double checking that all the drapes were closed, she changed into her pajamas and took her hair out of its ponytail. Kaia washed her face, then went over to the ropes that opened the panels on the ceiling. It felt like a stargazing night, so she decided to open all of them. With the nighttime sky above her, she crawled into bed and stared at the stars.

Curious about how much sleep she'd get before school the next day, she glanced at her clock and groaned internally. She wished she could blame her friends for the lack of sleep she'd be getting, but for once she was the one to blame. Oh well, she thought as she rolled over and shut her eyes, it's not going to be the end of the world. It would also guarantee that she wouldn't let it happen again. Still, school tomorrow was going to _suck_.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

After what felt like only an hour, Kaia awoke to the blaring of her alarm clock. She groaned, and reached out a hand to hit the button that turned off the irritating sound. She laid in bed for a moment longer, before hurriedly sitting up when she realized that she was falling back asleep. She couldn't afford to run late on the first day of school.

She got out of bed, and grimaced at the sticky feeling her skin had. She hated going to bed after a run without showering, but last night she had been pretty much dead on her feet. Kaia wandered over to her closet and pulled out a shirt and some pants after several moments of consideration. Outfit decided on, she walked into her bathroom and started the shower.

The water served pretty well to wake her up, especially since she got in before the water had time to warm up completely. She blamed the lack of sleep for that one. After getting out and drying off, she pulled on a pair of black jeans that flared at the ankle and a dark blue tunic. She decided to let her hair dry naturally, and wrapped a towel around her shoulders to keep her shirt from getting wet. She liked the way her hair formed loose ringlets when she left it to its own devices, because it certainly made her job easier.

Looking in the mirror, she decided to do a thin line of eyeliner and some light mascara today. She didn't really consider her eyes her best feature – that was her hair, in her opinion – so she didn't usually feel like drawing a lot of attention to them. If she'd had her mother's gorgeous bluey-green color, then she would flaunt them all she could. As it was, she hadn't even gotten her dad's interesting stormy grey eyes either. Instead, she got stuck with a strange, off-brown color that didn't seem to belong to anyone in her family lineage.

Eye makeup done, Kaia checked her face for any breakouts that needed covering up or any splotchy redness to her skin. She found nothing. Well, at least one thing was cooperating this morning. She checked her hair and found it only slightly damp, so she removed the towel from around her neck and lightly ran a brush through the copper-colored strands. Once she was done, Kaia double checked her reflection, then nodded and went back into her room.

She pulled out a pair of black, strappy heels that gave her an extra two inches off the ground and put them on. Glancing down at her clothing one last time, she opened the door to her room and went downstairs. She could smell her dad before she could see him. Rather, she could smell the breakfast he was making.

Kaia entered the kitchen to see her dad at the stove making hashbrowns and overeasy eggs. Glancing at the toaster, she noticed that the lever was down, meaning sourdough toast was being made as well. At the click of her shoes, her dad glanced up and grinned.

"There she is! My little late-night runner is emerging from her nest at a reasonable hour for once!" She rolled her eyes but smiled, getting out two plates and some silverware for them to use. Opening the fridge, Kaia grabbed the bottle of orange juice and set it on the counter before grabbing two cups.

"Sorry again, Dad. I promise to keep a better eye on the time in the future. Luckily I ran into the Sheriff, and he had Stiles drive me back home so I got back earlier than expected. School is still going to be rough, but nothing I can't handle." Her dad dished out their breakfasts and moved the plates and cups to the counter on the kitchen's island.

"Why was the Sheriff out in the middle of the woods at night? And with Stiles, no less?" Kaia hesitated, not really wanting her dad to worry. If he thought that she might be in danger out in the woods, he'd make her find a new place to run. He was a pretty cool parent, but a parent nonetheless.

"Um, there might have been a body found in the woods yesterday, so he was out investigating. Stiles pretty much snuck out of the house to go snoop – the Sheriff didn't bring him along." Her dad's eyes grew worried. Kaia ate some food, hoping to come off as nonchalant. She knew it was rather ridiculous to worry about not being able to run in the woods when someone was found dead, but she couldn't help it. The woods was her place to be alone and relax. It was her place to think.

"A dead body? When did it happen?" her dad asked. Kaia scrutinized his expression. Apparently it was his turn to pretend to be nonchalant. She knew what he was really asking. Could that dead body have been her if she had been in the wrong place at the wrong time?

"I don't know, sometime yesterday afternoon or late morning from what it sounded like. I was cold and tired, and really just wanted to get home. The Sheriff didn't seem too worried about it being a repeating thing while he and his men were out there. Or if he was, he didn't show it." Kaia caught the look on her dad's face, and had to smother a wince. She hadn't helped her situation at all.

"His men were out there too? Not just him?" Her dad asked, his concern growing. There was a momentary pause in which Kaia's breathing stopped, then her dad continued speaking. "Kaia, I think you should stay out of the woods when running." Her jaw dropped.

"But Dad!"

"No buts." Her dad said, cutting off any additional things she had to say. "This isn't permanent, only temporary. I just want you to not be alone in the woods until the killer is caught, or the police declare there to be no more danger. I know what that place means to you, so I'm not going to cut you off entirely without good reason." Kaia paused, and caught on to the hint her dad was giving her to the loophole in his rule.

"You said I couldn't be alone in the woods. Could I still go for walks in them if I bring Stiles or Scott with me?" Her dad gave a small smile and nodded, causing her to grin in relief. "Thanks dad, I promise I'll be careful out there." He nodded and tucked into his food, though his eyes were still dark with concern.

They ate in companionable silence for several minutes, and Kaia's mind began to drift. As she played with her last bite of egg, she flicked her eyes up at her father. He was still eating his hashbrowns, and didn't notice her glance. Kaia bit her lip, then turned her eyes back to her plate before speaking.

"Hey, Dad?" She kept her voice intentionally light, and felt her father look up at her, but kept her eyes on the bright yellow of her egg yolk. "Is Mom coming home this weekend?" She glanced up just in time to see his expression fall, and his eyes turn apologetic. Her stomach sank.

"Kaia-" he began, before Kaia cut him off, standing up and stuffing the last of her egg in her mouth.

"No, no, it's fine. I know she's busy with work and stuff. I was just checking in case I wanted to make plans with anyone for the weekend. Wouldn't want things to overlap." She said hurriedly, putting her dishes in the dishwasher and moving the pans to the sink. Her dad was studying her, but apparently decided to let the matter go for the moment.

"Ah. Well in that case, you probably don't want to plan anything for Sunday." Kaia looked up in confusion, her previous awkwardness dissapating in her surprise.

"What's on Sunday?" she asked, pausing momentarily. Her father raised an eyebrow at her, and Kaia was briefly reminded of her envy. She'd tried to practice raising only one eyebrow before, and had ended up making so many strange faces that she'd given up.

"What, a father can't want to spend time with his daughter every now and then?" Kaia felt her cheeks turn slightly pink in embarassment. It had been a while since they had spent any time as a family. In fact, ever since summer began, she'd either been out in the woods running or hanging out with Stiles and Scott. She'd barely been in the house all summer.

"Sorry, Dad. I'll be sure to leave Sunday free just for you." Kaia's eyes slid to the clock, and widened in panic. "Sh-, er, shoot! Stiles will be here to pick me up in ten minutes!" She ran out of the room and up the stairs, darting into her room. She grabbed her bag and shoved several extra pens into the front pouch, just in case. She went over to her phone and caught sight of its blinking light. Pausing, she swiped the unlock pattern and saw that she had a text from Scott.

 _Hey, made it home. I have something to tell you. See you at school tomorrow._ Kaia frowned. Well, that was cryptic. She felt a brief moment of worry that something was wrong, when a familiar honk from outside drew her attention. That was Stiles's Jeep. Shaking off her concern, she stuffed her phone in her bag and raced downstairs again, giving her dad a quick hug and kiss on the cheek before racing out the door.

"Hey." she said breathlessly as she slid into the passenger seat. As Stiles pulled out of the driveway, she noticed the bags under his eyes and the way he yawned every couple of minutes. "You look about as good as I feel." He grinned slightly.

"I'm actually pretty awake. My body is the one that's tired, which is unfortunate because I need it awake as well. Thus, the drink of the gods." He gestured at the huge mug of coffee in the cup holder that was already half empty. Kaia cast it a disapproving glance, before noticing the slight tension around her friend's eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked. Stiles glanced at her in surprise before returning his eyes to the road so they didn't crash and die.

"What? Nothing's wrong. Why would you think anything's wrong?" Catching sight of her deadpan expression, Stiles sighed. "Alright, alright. You know me too well, it's kind of irritating how I can never hide anything from you. Scott texted me last night after he got home. Please don't freak out, but he said he got bit by something." He looked like he was already regretting telling her.

"What?! Why didn't he tell me? Did he go to the hospital to get it checked out?" she interregated. Stiles looked like he was biting into a lemon.

"I'm guessing that the reason he didn't tell you is because of what is happening right now." he said dryly. Kaia paused, and realized that she was freaking out, just like Stiles had told her not to do, and took several deep breaths to calm herself down.

"Sorry, I can't help it. Someone has to worry about him, because heaven knows the guy worries about anything _but_ the things he needs to worry about. But that's beside the point. Explain." Her tone left no room for argument, and Stiles rolled his eyes at her demanding tone.

"I don't know a lot, only that it must not have been bad enough to make him need to get medical attention. Besides, his mom is a nurse. I'm sure if anything happened, he could just ask her for help. Not to mention, he probably knows quite a bit on how to treat wounds properly from her. Just calm down, it will be okay." Kaia frowned at him for a moment, before lifting her chin.

"Fine, but I don't have to like it. I'll also be keeping an eye on him, and if he begins to act strangely, I will take the keys to your Jeep and drive him to the ER myself." Stiles looked like he wanted to protest, but knew better than to. Finally, he sighed in defeat, and Kaia smirked victoriously.

"Sometimes I really don't like you."

"I know."

The next several minutes to school were filled with bickering over the radio station, because _no_ Stiles, Taylor Swift does _not_ count as part of the oldies category, no matter how long ago her first song came out. The rest of the ride was spent in an easy silence as they switched the radio back and forth after every couple of songs, having come to a compromise.

They arrived at the school, and Stiles managed to park in a spot right out front just before a guy driving a grey van did. The other guy honked, but Stiles waved cheerily at him, and the guy decided to just move on. Kaia grabbed her stuff, and hopped out, already scanning the area for Scott. She found him right as Stiles was locking up his car.

"Look, there's Scott." she said, pointing him out. "I don't know about you, but I want to know more about what happened to him after we left." Stiles nodded in agreement, and followed Kaia as she made her way through the crowds of teenagers, heading towards their friend.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Kaia and Stiles made their way over to the front walkway where Scott was waiting for them. As they approached, Scott looked up and grinned in greeting. Despite her concern, Kaia couldn't help but smile back and wave. As she got closer, she could see that Scott looked nearly as tired as she and Stiles did.

"Hey guys." Scott said as they approached. "I see you got my text – otherwise you'd probably be upset with me right now." His last statement was directed at Kaia, and she rolled her eyes, even as she grinned sheepishly.

"I can't help it, and you know that." she said. "Besides, this time it was justified worry. We had just left you alone in the woods at night with a killer running around. Not only that, but I hear you got bitten by something?" Scott blinked in surprise.

"How did you – " A light bulb went off and he turned to Stiles accusingly. "You _told her_? Dude, I sent _you_ the text because I knew that Kaia's inner health nut would kick in the minute she heard anything about it." Stiles raised his hands in surrender.

"She forced it out of me! Not even thirty seconds in my car and she had already figured out I was keeping something from her. You know how she gets when she's kept out of the loop." Scott's expression softened as he realized that Stiles had a point.

"True. I think she may have picked up some interrogation techniques from your dad." he mused thoughtfully. Stiles groaned, throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation.

"Seriously? So not only does my dad pretty much think she's the daughter he never had, but now he's training her to play good cop/bad cop too? Scott, how am I supposed to deal with two of them? I'll never get away with anything now that she's gone darkside!" Kaia huffed, her eyes glinting in amusement.

" _She_ is right here, and I have not gone darkside! I still haven't told your dad about what you did last November at the station." Kaia and Scott watched in amusement as Stiles's eyes widened and he alternately went red then pale.

"You wouldn't."

"I don't know," Kaia said, examining her nails with a small smirk, "maybe I would since you seem to think I – what was it again? Went darkside on you? Hmm, if that's true then shouldn't I call the Sheriff and tell him all about it? I think I have his number on speed dial. Number three, wasn't it?" She made a show of digging in her pocket for her phone, and Stiles gaped for a moment before lunging towards her and trying to grab the phone out of her hand.

"No! I'm sorry, you didn't go darkside! You went the opposite of darkside! You – you went so opposite of darkside you went _lightside_! Just – would you put the phone down already?" Kaia burst out laughing at her friend's panic, and managed to fend him off long enough to put the phone back in her pocket. Scott was snickering as well, but his laughter was cut short as he let out a hiss of pain and put his hand to his side. Kaia's smile instantly fell.

"Scott! Geez, I can't believe I already forgot that you got bitten. How bad is it? It clearly is still hurting you." Stiles stepped a little closer to their friend, eyeing the area in interest. Scott shifted a little uncomfortably under their scrutiny, but understood their wish to know what was wrong. Besides, he had promised to show them both what had happened.

"Fine, fine. If it makes you both feel better, I can just show you. It's pretty clear that both of you want to see it even though you haven't said anything." Kaia gave him a slightly embarrassed look, but Stiles didn't even bother hiding his excitement.

"Okay, let's see this thing!" he said, leaning forward a bit. Scott rolled up the front of his shirt and Kaia gasped at the size of the bandage. Even Stiles was taken aback, though his shock was mixed with a slight glee. "Oh!"

"Yeah. Whoa!" Scott flinched back as Kaia's fingers brushed the bandage. "Seriously, Kaia, give a guy some warning. I know you're thinking about being a doctor, but you aren't one yet." Kaia sent a weak glare up at him then eyed the spot.

"Shut up, Scott. If the bite is that big then it has a higher chance of getting infected." She suddenly swung her backpack around and dug through one of the front pockets. When her hand emerged, it was holding a small glass vial of clear liquid that she handed to Scott. "Here. When you get a chance, spread this on the inside of the bandage. It should help it heal faster and keep it clean from infection."

"Hey, I remember this stuff." Scott said, pocketing the vial. "This is your family's secret cure-all Tonic, isn't it? Are you ever going to tell us what's in that stuff? Your family gave it to us all the time when we were younger."

"If I told you then it wouldn't be a family secret." Kaia said, re-positioning her bag. "And the only reason we had to use it all the time was because you two kept getting us into situations where we got hurt." The boys simultaneously let out squawks of protest.

"Hey! That was mainly Stiles, I'll have you know. It usually isn't my fault we end up in such strange situations." Stiles gave his friend an affronted look.

"Like what? When have I been the cause of a strange situation?"

"Does searching for half a body in the middle of the night sound familiar?"

"Okay, fine. I apologize for trying to make your life interesting by dragging you out to try and solve a murder that took place in the woods. And also for being the reason you got bitten." Stiles said, clearly not very apologetic except for the part where Scott got injured. "Speaking of, any idea what did that to you?" Scott shrugged, slinging his bag over his shoulder as he picked it up off the ground.

"It was too dark to see much, but I'm pretty sure it was a wolf." Kaia blinked and turned to exchange a look with Stiles as they began walking towards the main building. The story sounded far-fetched – even for a situation that Stiles caused.

"A _wolf_ bit you?" Stiles was clearly skeptical when he voiced what both he and Kaia were thinking.

"Uh-huh." Kaia shook her head in response to Scott's answer.

"Scott, there's no way it could have been a wolf. I live right at the edge of the woods and run nearly every day in them. I've never seen any sign of something that big in there apart from deer, and they wouldn't bite someone." Scott raised his eyebrows at her.

"I heard a wolf howling." he said, searching for an alternate explanation from her. Stiles interjected from Scott's other side, causing the pair to look in his direction.

"No, you didn't." he said, almost in a sing-song voice. Scott scoffed at that.

"What do you mean no I didn't? How do you know what I heard?" Stiles laughed.

"Because California doesn't have wolves, okay? Not in like, sixty years." Kaia nodded, remembering having read that somewhere.

"Yeah, they were all hunted to extinction because people felt threatened by them and because they wanted their pelts. I'm pretty sure the last one was killed in the twenties." she commented. Scott frowned slightly, pausing on the sidewalk at the news.

"Really?" he asked. Stiles and Kaia stopped walking and turned to face him.

"Yes, really." Stiles said, slightly exasperated. "There are no wolves in California." Scott's frown deepened for a second before he clearly decided to shake it off, his expression lightening as he changed the topic.

"Alright, well if you don't believe me about the wolf, then you guys are definitely not going to believe me when I tell you I found the body." Kaia went pale and Stiles went spastic. The rest of the school was so used to him being random that his freakout didn't even draw any strange looks from the other students.

"You _what_?" Kaia hissed in disbelief.

"You – are you kidding me?" Stiles sounded like he had just been told summer had been extended an extra week and was trying to keep his cool. Scott's voice was tinged with amusement as he answered.

"No, man, I wish. I'm going to have nightmares for a month." He glanced at Kaia briefly, and she glanced away, her face still pale from his announcement. Stiles didn't seem to notice as he let out a burst of thrilled, breathless laughter.

"Oh, God. That is freakin' awesome." Kaia stared at her friend incredulously before shaking her head and throwing her hands up in surrender.

"I give up. I'm friends with idiots." she said despairingly. "My best friends are idiots. I'm going inside, I'll see you two in class." With that, she turned and continued walking towards the main building. When Kaia reached the door, she caught sight of her still-pale reflection and took a moment to gather herself again. When she finally reached out for the door handle, it was at the same time as someone else. Kaia glanced up in surprise, then immediately stiffened at the same time the other girl did.

"Lydia."

"Kaia."

There was a brief moment of silence as the two girls sized each other up. The atmosphere between them was frigid, though not actively hostile. Lydia then raised her eyebrows at Kaia, and looked pointedly at the door to the school that they were both still in front of.

"Are you going to go in, or are you just going to stand here like an idiot for the rest of the day?" she asked, ignoring the other students just like Kaia was. Kaia bristled slightly, but kept her tone light as she answered.

"No, I figured I'd let you go first, Your Highness. After all, mere commoners are never supposed to go before the queen." Lydia pursed her lips in annoyance as her eyes flashed, but she lifted her chin nonetheless and opened the door, not bothering to hold it open after she entered the building. Kaia sighed as she felt the tension release from her muscles.

She knew what Stiles saw in the girl; she could see it too. However, that was probably part of her problem with Lydia. Kaia could see her potential to be a kind, caring, and extremely intelligent person, but all that Lydia showed to the world was a shallow popularity that felt hollow. If it was that hard for her to see it, Kaia couldn't imagine how hard it must be to play the part of the shell Lydia constructed around herself.

"Wow, no love lost there, huh?" Kaia yelped at the sound of Scott's voice. She turned and saw that both he and Stiles had finished their conversation while she was having her stand-off with Lydia, and had witnessed the ending of their encounter. She sighed again.

"Yeah. Anyway, come on you two, we don't want to be late to our first class of the year." Kaia opened the door, and led the other two into the school halls just as the bell rang, telling them it was time to head to class.


End file.
